Sheep rancher fights for livelihood

Before his wife and other family members, Ron Shirts called on an Idaho Senate committee Monday to help him preserve a way of life for his three small children.

Shirts, a Weiser resident and one of the last domestic sheep operators in southern Idaho, is fighting for access to public grazing lands that have been taken away to protect bighorn sheep in the Hells Canyon area.

"It gives me hope to be here so we can let people hear our story and let people understand the hardship and what's happened in this situation, because this should not happen in America," said Shirts, holding his 18-month-old daughter, Ellie. "I make an agreement. I live by that agreement."

He referred to a 1997 agreement signed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, among others, that allowed for the reintroduction of bighorn sheep into the region.

The agreement, codified by the Legislature that year, declared "the potential risk, if any, of disease transmission and loss of bighorn sheep when the same invade domestic livestock or sheep operations is accepted."

In 2005, however, the U.S. Forest Service issued its plan for the Payette National Forest, which affected that agreement. Under its obligations to manage the habitat under the National Forest Management Act, the Forest Service has moved beyond the 1997 agreement. It issued modifications to its domestic sheep permits in 2007 and 2008 that affected Shirt's grazing lands.

Up to 60 percent of his grazing lands have been deemed off-limits because of the potential for disease transmission between domestic sheep and bighorn sheep.

More restrictions on domestic sheep use in the Payette National Forest could be on their way. Sportsmen, the Nez Perce Tribe and environmentalists have joined together to support the bighorn.

A 2006 study by the Forest Service cited disease as a limiting factor to the bighorn population. "Because they are so closely related, bighorn sheep are thought to be highly susceptible to diseases carried by domestic sheep," the report said.

Additionally, "disease, primarily pneumonia initiated by contact with domestic sheep, has been identified as the key factor limiting bighorn restoration in Hells Canyon."

Lt. Gov. Brad Little was on hand Monday before the Senate Resources and Environment Committee to support the Shirts. Last February, Fish and Game, under pressure from Gov. Butch Otter, instituted a policy to move or kill bighorn sheep when they mix with domestic sheep.

Many members of the committee, including chairman Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, and Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, expressed support Monday for Shirts. Pearce said he would consider bringing legislation this session.

"I'm waiting for the people that signed these agreements with us, the agencies and others, to step up to the plate and stand behind the '97 agreement. And for Idaho state law to protected us like it's supposed to," Shirts said. "That's where my hope is."

W. Alan Schroeder, a Boise lawyer representing Shirts and his brother, Frank, at Monday's meeting, said there is no documented evidence of disease transmission between domestic and bighorn sheep in the area.

He said the bighorn are already carrying certain pathogens, that sheep-to-sheep transmission is not the only way for bighorn to contract the diseases, and that there are no temporary overlaps between the domestic and bighorn sheep populations.

"The fear factor kicks in and there is no objective thought. That's the problem," Schroeder said.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444